Michael (Meic) Dean Alger

Michael (Meic) Dean Alger, 68, of Barcelona, Spain, formerly of Spencer, passed over on May 12 in Barcelona. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, June 14, at noon at Gary’s on the River in Spencer. Private burial of ashes will be in the Laurens Cemetery on June 13.

Meic was born in Spencer to Earl (Bud) and Cleone Powell Alger on April 7, 1957. While growing up, he learned to play the piano and drums and discovered a love for books, music and theater where he excelled at the highest level. Though an only child, Meic was surrounded by family and friends, and his greatest joy was being among them, both his biological family and his adopted family in Spain.

Meic graduated from Spencer High School in 1975 and from Simpson College in 1979. Following a short work stint at the University of Iowa Memorial Union Bookstore in Iowa City, Meic made his way to Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter in search of an adventure. There, he found work he enjoyed as a teacher of English and people he loved, and stayed for 40-plus years. He was an articulate teacher and popular among his students/families and colleagues.

Over the course of his lifetime, Meic had a particular interest in his mother’s Welsh heritage so he learned the Welsh language and culture. Together with his good friend Iain, Meic traveled to Wales and was, eventually, able to track down the farmhouse from whence a set of his great-great-grandparents, Philip and Sarah Hales, set forth for the U.S. in 1849, eventually ending up in Spencer. Additionally, Meic and Iain (and sometimes his mother, Cleone, now widowed), on four trips across the U.S., were able to locate many Welsh communities where emigrants had once settled.

Apart from his teaching, Meic acquired three additional languages — Catalan, Spanish and French — produced abstract paintings, wrote novels and poetry and played rhythm and blues piano. He was somewhat of a raconteur and had a fund of entertaining anecdotes about incidents, tribulations and misunderstandings in his daily life. His social media followers were treated to a slew of commentaries on current events or human foibles. He divided his week into six themes — PunDay Monday (puns he had come across), Etymology Tuesday (fascinating origins of English words), Weird Wednesday Facts (on April 17 it was “A Reverse Root Beer Float is made with root beer ice cream and vanilla soda”), Thesaurus Thursday (list of synonyms of particular word or expression), French Canadians are Funny Friday (from a program of practical jokes on Montreal TV) and Sing-along Saturdays (songs with their lyrics).

Said one of his friends, Janet, in her tribute: Meic was “larger than life.” He was lively, friendly, intelligent, talented and funny. His knowledge of and interest in any subject was immense. He appreciated friendships, being loyal, kind and gentle. He stood strongly against the injustices in the world. He embraced life to the fullest!

Meic was preceded in death by his parents, Bud and Cleone Alger, his grandparents, Robert L. and Mildred Alger and Jesse and Mildred Powell, and numerous aunts/uncles and cousins. Left to mourn his passing are numerous friends and cousins on both sides of his family.

A funeral service was held May 17 in Barcelona with Memora Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.